Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) Short Interest Update

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:BWFG) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 92,900 shares, a decrease of 12.4% from the October 15th total of 106,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 14,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 6.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $34.00 target price on shares of Bankwell Financial Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Bankwell Financial Group Stock Performance

Shares of BWFG traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $32.02. 10,645 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 13,574. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $251.65 million, a PE ratio of 16.68 and a beta of 0.83. Bankwell Financial Group has a 52-week low of $22.47 and a 52-week high of $33.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06.

Bankwell Financial Group (NASDAQ:BWFG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The bank reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.32. Bankwell Financial Group had a net margin of 7.77% and a return on equity of 5.74%. The company had revenue of $49.35 million for the quarter.

Bankwell Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, November 11th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Bankwell Financial Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.03%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christine Chivily sold 1,815 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.88, for a total value of $50,602.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 14,449 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $402,838.12. The trade was a 11.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 19.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Bankwell Financial Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 60.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,890 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,875 shares of the bank’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 1,449 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Bankwell Financial Group by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 17,444 shares of the bank’s stock worth $452,000 after buying an additional 1,225 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 20,781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Bankwell Financial Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 28,548 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $724,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. 35.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Bankwell Financial Group Company Profile

Bankwell Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Bankwell Bank that provides various banking services for individual and commercial customers. It offers various traditional depository products, including checking, savings, money market, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides first mortgage loans secured by one-to-four family owner occupied residential properties for personal use; home equity loans and home equity lines of credit secured by owner occupied one-to-four family residential properties; loans secured by commercial real estate, multi-family dwellings, owner-occupied commercial real estate, and investor-owned one-to-four family dwellings; commercial construction loans for commercial development projects, including apartment buildings and condominiums, as well as office buildings, retail, and other income producing properties; land loans; commercial business loans secured by assignments of corporate assets and personal guarantees of the business owners; loans to finance insurance premiums; overdraft lines of credit; and unsecured personal loans.